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LU joins the Clinton Global Initiative University Network

Lamar University has joined the Clinton Global Initiative (CGI U) University Network, a growing consortium of colleges and universities that support, mentor, and provide seed funding to student leaders, innovators and entrepreneurs who are developing solutions to some of the world’s most pressing challenges.

Established in 2005 by President Bill Clinton, the mission of the CGI U is to turn ideas into action.

CGI U brings together college students to address global challenges with practical, innovative solutions. It is more than simply discussing problems – participants take concrete steps to solve them by creating action plans, building relationships, participating in hands-on workshops, and following up with CGI U as they complete their projects.

Lamar University is now one of more than 50 colleges and universities worldwide that have joined the CGI University Network.

Lamar University will provide $10,000 in funding to be divided among LU students who are selected to pursue their Commitments to Actions at CGI U 2014. Commitments to Action, a unique feature of the CGI U model, are new, specific and measurable initiatives that address global challenges across CGI U’s five focus areas: education, environment and climate change, peace and human rights, poverty alleviation, and public health. Lamar University will mentor student commitment-makers as they develop and implement their plans in the coming months.

“We are so pleased to be a part of this unique and committed organization,” said LU president Kenneth Evans. “We are one of only two Texas member universities in the company of more than 50 other outstanding institutions that include Duke, Ohio State, Cornell, Brown, Arizona State, Chicago, Florida and UC Berkeley.”

The CGI U model drives action among its members in the following four ways; inspiration, networking, knowledge building and collaboration.

Evans said that CGI U is an exciting opportunity for our students and their faculty mentors from numerous disciplines at Lamar, who have long been involved in the study, research, and solution of local, national, and global problems.

Since its inaugural meeting in 2008, CGI U has brought together more than 5,500 student leaders from 135 countries and more than 800 schools. Past speakers include Madeleine Albright, Jack Dorsey, Muhammad Yunus, Hawa Abdi Diblawe, and Jon Stewart.

“I personally am profoundly grateful that people care enough to show up and think of one more thing they can do to give one more person a better chance,” said Bill Clinton. “And I hope that next year, you want to do it again.”

Lamar University is a public, Carnegie Doctoral Research University and offers more than 110 baccalaureate and master’s degrees and doctorates in nine program areas.

Degrees are offered through the Colleges of Arts & Sciences, Business, Education & Human Development, Engineering, and Fine Arts & Communication, and in addition our outstanding Honors Program has become a College as a result of a substantial new endowment.

The University is accredited by the Council on Colleges of the Southern Association of Colleges and Schools, and most programs which have disciplinary accreditation available have achieved that distinction.

Lamar is fortunate to be located in the center of one of the largest refining and petrochemical complexes in the nation, in a region arguably the energy hub of the country. It serves the entire area as the focus for government, education, business, health care, entertainment, and culture, and is also the gateway to the Big Thicket National Preserve, a national eco-tourism treasure.

With a deep-water port, enviable rail infrastructure, abundant supplies of water, and a workforce capable of designing, building, and operating billion dollar investments, Beaumont has it all.

Lamar University, a member of the Texas State University System, has experienced a tremendous re-birth over the past decade, with enrollment steadily increasing to more than 15,000. It has been recognized nationally for its general education core curriculum, leadership in online education, being one of the 100 most diverse campuses in the country, and selection as a member of the Honor Roll of the Chronicle of Higher Education’s “Great Colleges to Work For.”